I had a very unusual experience last week that I wanted to describe to you.

Every morning I ask the Lord to teach me and he usually gives me a passage of Scripture that we converse about. On this morning I immediately heard “Numbers 14” so I read about how Moses interceded for the house of Israel when they refused to go into the Promised Land. God promised that none of that generation would enter in. He initially wanted to destroy them and make a nation out of Moses but Moses knew the heart of God and made an argument with God that, for His glory and His reputation, He should find another way.

Then I felt God turn to me and tell me to intercede for my generation. And as I prayed I began to feel the growing anger. I’ve never felt this before (except for a specific person) so I asked the Lord why he was angry. This is the Word I felt He gave me –

“Fruitless has been my careful cultivation of this generation”

Now I’m not a prophet so I rarely get specific words from the Lord especially for others so this is new for me. I took it to the Gathering of our Body and it was immediately confirmed as I submitted it to them. I’m sure many of you are sceptical of this kind of thing (as am I) so lets just explore the possibility that our generation (I’m thinking of us Xers) have not born the fruit God intended us to bear.

Just think of the resources poured out on our generation in the 70s and 80s

Multiple Youth Pastors in every city and town

Flourishing para-church ministries like Young Life and Youth for Christ

Bible Colleges in every corner of the country

International Stability (none of us were drafted into any wars)

Financial Stability like no other time in history

Societal Stability where most of America was safe and justice visited upon criminals

So these were God’s astounding gifts to our generation and where’s the fruit? We seem so caught up in our self-focussed conversations about what we want church to be that we can easily forget that God is an investor expecting a FULL return, many-fold, for all he has poured into us. Where is the fruit? Do we even care if we’re fruitful? Have we forgotten that God demands a return? Do we really think all of these blessings are simply for our enjoyment?

I get the picture that we are like a Judges Generation. When God grants peace we run to our idols until God shakes things up (removes the hedge of protection and abundant blessing).

During the next 20-30 years many of us will be leaders of American Christianity. Here are three things I think we should do –

Pray and stand in the gap (like Moses did) for our generation.

Stop ignoring or recasting the question about our fruitfulness so that we can be self-focussed.

Band together to see a world-wide movement of God bearing fruit for many generations to come